Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie

Ken? Ryu? Chun Li? Yes, video gamers, the popular Capcom Street Fighter video game characters have been ported over to the anime world, and the results are (visually, at least) eye-popping (not to mention bone-cracking and intestine-rearranging). Featuring some of the most crisply detailed animation I've yet seen in an anime offering, Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie opens with the reunion of Ken and Ryu (big, brawny boys who can kick serious tush, for the uninitiated) after the death of their master. Ryu, who has been battling his inner demons (literally, as he transforms into a beast when overcome by the spirit of the Dark Hadou, an extremely powerful and destructive martial art), is visited one day by Shun, a young boy claiming to be his brother. When the boy is kidnapped by the mysterious Shadowlaw corporation, Ryu swings into street fighting action and...whoa...sorry, I was beginning to sound like a breathless schoolgirl on an 'N Sync jag there. Anyway, here's the bottom line: While the storyline of let's-decry-random-violence-while-showing-random-violence doesn't quite work, the animation itself is wondrous. Disappointingly (again), the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is available only on the English-dubbed setting, but the extras are worthwhile, especially the interviews with the Japanese actors and actresses who voice the various characters. Enthusiastically recommended. Also available: The first four DVD volumes of Street Fighter II V at $29.95 each. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)